Winning with Writing?

[Love2Smile]

What are your thoughts on Winning with Writing program? I am considering it with my soon to be 8th grader who has little writing experience.

Thanks

[Momling]

:bigear: The books just came out last month, so there probably aren't too many people who are using them yet.

[Rebel Jedi Mom]

We will start them in August, but they look great. Step by step, workbook style writing program. I will probably post back after we start and give feedback.

[jewellsmommy]

I am going to order this. But, I am trying to figure out which level I want to order. :001_smile:

[nov05mama]

We are liking it so far...however, DS is only at Level 1 and he just started at the beginning of month when we started the 'new year'. Like a PP said, it's a step-by-step worksheet approach. We are not far enough into it to give any substantial feedback, but are liking it so far. It's setup to cover a 36 week period, with one "lesson" per day.

[Mimm]

My 8 year old is not a fan of writing. We use WWE and it had her in tears many times last year. But she's a very easy cryer and I believe in the way WWE teaches writing so I bought the next level for her for the upcoming year. Then, on impulse, I also bought WWW. I know, bad, right? I already have a writing program. Well, she liked the look of it so over the summer she's been working on it and loving it! I sat my 10 year old ( who does very well with WWE) down with it and she whined the whole time during the very first lesson. The spiral was in her way and she didn't know the answers and on and on. So that's my very brief experience. It approaches writing differently so it may work for a child that doesn't like WWE. Though I still plan to make my 8 year old do WWE and supplement with WWW.

[Aurelia]

We just recently started working through WWW2 because we finished WWE1 and Ariel wasn't ready for level 2. We are currently in the middle of lesson 4 of 36. She's really learning stuff she didn't know before, but it's very formulaic and I know some of the time she's not actually doing the work, she's glancing at it, figuring out the pattern and marking her answer. I make her redo it, or have her explain how she got the answer in that case. It can't always be figured correctly by pattern, which helps, but it's something to watch for.

 

Since it's new, there are some typos, which I expected. Just FYI if that's a deal-breaker for you. The most obvious so far was "Bob eats his steak, and he eats his desert." At first I thought she was reading it wrong., but she correctly read the word. The second course is sand, apparently.

[nov05mama]

Since it's new, there are some typos, which I expected. Just FYI if that's a deal-breaker for you.

Oh, thank you for reminding me...I was planning to email her about one we found in Level 1 as well.

[amsunshine]

WWS actually looks really good for a simple, and very structured approach to writing. I initially thought I was going to supplement our writing instruction (CW Aesop B) with it to give my dds some extra, direct instruction on paragraphing. Then, I realized I needed to streamline our schedule and we love CW, so we are just sticking with what works for us. Nothing against WWS -- it looks very nice and simple to implement.

[Love2Smile]

I was looking at the scope and sequence and thinking of starting my 8th grader at level 6 and working thru level 8. How does that sound for a child with little writing instruction?

[Satori]

We are using Level 3. It's the only writing program we've actually used every day. I need to use it a bit more to give proper feedback though.

[Audrey]

I just purchased this but haven't received it yet. We have used GwG and SwS for several years now. I sooooooo wish this had been out last year! I am getting level 7 for grade 7 ds. I see from that samples (and from knowing how she's structured the grammar and spelling courses) that there is repetition throughout with skills, complexities and demands rising each level. So, I am thinking that, given ds's current level of writing instruction, he should be able to jump in okay (I hope??).

 

Ds loathes the physical act of writing and even balks at having to type something. But, he loves workbook stuff. I'm really hoping this will give him the instruction, practice and skills he needs.

 

*fingers crossed*

[Love2Smile]

I just purchased this but haven't received it yet. We have used GwG and SwS for several years now. I sooooooo wish this had been out last year! I am getting level 7 for grade 7 ds. I see from that samples (and from knowing how she's structured the grammar and spelling courses) that there is repetition throughout with skills, complexities and demands rising each level. So, I am thinking that, given ds's current level of writing instruction, he should be able to jump in okay (I hope??).

 

Ds loathes the physical act of writing and even balks at having to type something. But, he loves workbook stuff. I'm really hoping this will give him the instruction, practice and skills he needs.

 

*fingers crossed*

Audrey, have you received this yet? Do you like it?

[TeaCookiesBears]

Audrey, have you received this yet? Do you like it?

 

Me too! I would like to see what you think of the program. I am considering purchasing this of my girls. To me this looks better than writing strands but can not be sure as there are no reviews.

[Beth in SW WA]

We are doing WWW3 & GWG3 this summer. Dd8 will start WWW4 & GWG5 in Sept.

 

What I love:

 

Short & sweet lessons

Workbook'ish (bonus!)

Incremental

Open & Go

Workbook'ish (Can you tell I'm excited about a writing workbook???) :)

 

We did a bit of IEW last year along w/ WWE3. I wanted a paragraph skill-building program for dd8. This is perfect. It is very IEW'esque so it is seamless with the terminology my dds are familiar with.

 

Moms who love to teach writing with open-ended assignments would not enjoy this. Kids who love to write without parameters would not enjoy this.

 

Each lesson deals with a specific skill/topic. We do a few lessons in one sitting as time allows. WWW3 deals mainly with sentences. It concludes with a few paragraph-writing assignments.

 

I don't attempt to speak for others who are using WWW. This is my perspective after only 1 month of summer use. It is light and enjoyable. For this I am :001_smile:.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Beth in SW WA
added info

[TeaCookiesBears]

......I don't attempt to speak for others who are using WWW. This is my perspective after only 1 month of summer use. It is light and enjoyable. For this I am :001_smile:.

 

Thanks for posting your review of www it gives me more in sight as to what to expect. This might be a good fit as my dd12 who is creative and hates boundaries when writing. Jury still out on my dd5 Lol.:D

 

Thanks again for posting your review

[Aludlam]

Ok, it has been a few months .... How do you guys like it now?

[BatmansWife]

I just just got WWW1 and GWG1 for my 8 year old. We aren't too far along yet, but so far she LOVES it. :001_wub:

I can't give much of a review yet, because it's barely been a week that we've had it. :001_smile:

 

So, I'm anxious to hear from others (I'm hoping they will be positive). :bigear:

[jewellsmommy]

Ok, it has been a few months .... How do you guys like it now?

 

 

 

I am using level 4 with dd and level 3 with ds. This corresponds right to their grade level (as I test them) in language arts.

 

It is going well. It is not burdensome in the amount of writing required at one time. It seems well written/explained. I go over the lesson, sort of reading the lesson part out loud (when there is a teaching section), and I add in any extra instruction as needed.

 

I like the organization of it. I like my pages clean appearing (as in not cluttered, visually appealing, not busy), organized, with clear instructions, and plenty of room to write. This delivers.

 

Dd seems to be retaining well. Ds is doing better this year, with this program, than with anything we did last year. This writing program really reinforces their grammar program (GWG), and that seems to be the biggest benefit for ds.

Edited December 16, 2011 by jewellsmommy

[DragonFaerie]

I'm using WWW3 and WWW4 and it's going great! Just today, my son's lesson was to write a paragraph using the sentences he wrote yesterday. I was not at all sure it was going to go well but it did! He sat down, wrote and intro sentence, wrote his four sentences from yesterday and wrote and ending sentence, all within about five or ten minutes! AND, he was so excited to realize when he finished that he had just written a SIX-SENTENCE paragraph! Yay! :-D

 

As for DD10, her lesson in WWW4 this week was to write a short story. She actually got so excited about the finished story that she wants to type it up and give it to her dance teacher for Christmas. Yay! (Can you tell I'm loving this program? :D)

[Aludlam]

I like what I see. Dd10 has done WWE1 and 2. I can't tell from the sample if we would need WWW3 before WWW4. I just ordered Rod and Staff 4 for grammar. I was thinking of ordering WWW3, going through it at her speed (which I imagine would be relatively fast), and then if we liked it ordering WWW4.

 

what do you think?

[DragonFaerie]

The lessons in WWW3 are pretty short. I imagine it would be easy to double them up to move more quickly. That said, you may not need WWW3 at all. My kids had very sporadic writing before this year. I still started DD with WWW4 and she hasn't had any trouble with it.

[Aludlam]

The lessons in WWW3 are pretty short. I imagine it would be easy to double them up to move more quickly. That said, you may not need WWW3 at all. My kids had very sporadic writing before this year. I still started DD with WWW4 and she hasn't had any trouble with it.

 

So, since I know you have both books, do you think that there is enough review over WWW3 topics in the beginning of WWW4? I hate always feeling like we are always behind -- even though I know there is no such thing in homeschool! My dd is pretty good at narration, but really has done NO other writing. She hasn't really written anything for fun.

 

advice please!

[Aludlam]

I forgot to ask ... how long does it take to do a WWW4 lesson?

 

thanks

[jewellsmommy]

I like what I see. Dd10 has done WWE1 and 2. I can't tell from the sample if we would need WWW3 before WWW4. I just ordered Rod and Staff 4 for grammar. I was thinking of ordering WWW3, going through it at her speed (which I imagine would be relatively fast), and then if we liked it ordering WWW4.

 

what do you think?

 

 

I would go with 4. Level 3 does not have a lot of actual writing opportunities (at least not in the first half). Ds is in 3 and it is much more guided. Dd did WWE 1 yr before last and I had the same debate with myself. I am glad I went with level 4 though. It has allowed her to get more excited about the actual writing process.

Edited December 16, 2011 by jewellsmommy

[jewellsmommy]

I forgot to ask ... how long does it take to do a WWW4 lesson?

 

thanks

 

 

Dd is not my 'get it done fast' child. But, she has never spent more than 20 minutes on any one lesson thus far. I would say the average 10-15.

[Aludlam]

Thanks for the answers and your time. I will look more into 4.

[DragonFaerie]

I'd have to go back and compare the two levels but I do think that WWW4 starts off very slowly, so I'm thinking it is review. We're on week 27 and she is just now writing more than a paragraph at a time. Also, the lessons only take maybe 15 minutes at the most, less for WWW3.

[Mrs Twain]

On the WWW website, you can read through the table of contents for each book. Have you seen that? That helped me decide which levels to buy.

[Aludlam]

On the WWW website, you can read through the table of contents for each book. Have you seen that? That helped me decide which levels to buy.

 

 

I did, but it all sounds/looks good ... kwim?

[nov05mama]

It is going well. It is not burdensome in the amount of writing required at one time.

 

I like the organization of it. I like my pages clean appearing (as in not cluttered, visually appealing, not busy), organized, with clear instructions, and plenty of room to write. This delivers.

 

:iagree: DS has been using WWW and GWG (both Level 1) and we are both still enjoying them. I like the overall organization of it and the flow. The short lessons are great and the gradual lesson progression helps with overall retention. So far, at least for DS, the gradual lessons haven't bothered him. I know, with math, he will get annoyed if we are on certain topics for too long, but so far, there hasn't been any complaint about WWW or GWG. He loves doing them each day!

[Elfknitter.#]

Bumping for updates. :)

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I got level 2, when I should have gotten at least level 3. And while my daughter loves GWG, she does not like WWW. It might be the level thing, but I'm not sure. We are going to try Writing Strands 3 soon.

[DragonFaerie]

Both kids are still doing great with it. I've already bought it for both kids for next year.

[Mommyfaithe]

Would you say GWG and WWW are aligned with typical grade levels? If ds is finishing up CLE 300, should we move into level 4 or 5?

 

Faithe

[DragonFaerie]

I can't really compare to other programs, except that I think GWG is in line with Voyages in English, which is what DD is finishing up for this year. DS has been doing diagramming for awhile now with GWG and DD won't start diagramming until the last chapter of VIE. As for WWW, DS is starting on outlining a paragraph in WWW3 and DD is starting to write three paragraph papers, with outlines, in WWW4.

[Shellers]

My DS11 is using WWW and GWG. I like them both and we will continue using them both.

[nov05mama]

Still going really well here too. DS likes that the lessons are short and easy. He's doing all three: WWW, GWG & SWSV and still doesn't complain. I know there has been at least some retention from the lessons since we've done verbal review and he can answer correctly. I will be interested to see how much he remembers when I add in FLL in July ;) Not sure that they programs are for every kid, but they work here, so we will continue them :)